July 13, 2013 06:39 PM CDTJuly 15, 2013 03:43 PM CDTSherrington: Harry Cooper – Dallas' original teen golf prodigy – might've been the best to never win a major

Sherrington: Harry Cooper – Dallas' original teen golf prodigy – might've been the best to never win a major

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File 1936/The Associated Press

Harry "Lighthorse" Cooper holds his finish after hitting a shot during the first round of the 1936 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Cooper, who still holds the record as the youngest winner in PGA Tour history, won his professional debut in 1923 at 19 years, three days old.

Time is running out for Jordan Spieth, a curious judgment, perhaps, about a teenage golfer who’s done so much, so soon, but facts are facts.

He’ll turn 20 on July 27, when he’ll no longer be a threat to Lighthorse Harry Cooper.

Actually, he’s already too late.

Like Spieth, Cooper was a Dallas prodigy. Born in England, where his father, Syd, apprenticed under Old Tom Morris at St. Andrews, he honed his skills at Cedar Crest. And there under his father’s tutelage Texas’ first PGA star was born.

Cooper’s first pro tournament and win came in 1923 at the Galveston Golf and Country Club. His four-round total of 312 beat a former Canadian Open champ and a field of nine. He was 19 years, three days old, not four days, like some records say.

Another Dallas golfer, Ralph Guldahl, and Johnny McDermott also won at 19, but, since 1900, Cooper remains the youngest.

He was no flash in the pan. When Cooper won the Los Angeles Open in ’26, famed author Damon Runyan dubbed him “Lighthorse,” claiming he needed a horse in the final round to keep up with Cooper and George Von Elm, who finished in a breezy 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Cooper’s peers called him “Pipeline” because of his accuracy, which helped him to 31 wins. His best year was ’37, when he led in winnings and won the first Vardon Trophy. From 1930-45, only Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Homer Smith ranked higher in PGA Tour stats.

But when Cooper is remembered now, it’s not for his 31 wins or precocious start, usually just this:

Best golfer never to win a major.

Cooper finished runner-up at the Masters in ’36 and ’38 and at the U.S. Open in ’27 and ’36. Also finished third in the 1925 PGA. He never played the British Open.

“Something always happened that I had no control over,” Cooper once told The New York Times. “I still dwell on the big ones that got away.”

He may have dwelled too much.

“Coopy was a great shotmaker, one of the three best fairway-wood players ever with Bobby Jones and Byron Nelson,” said Paul Runyan, the ’38 PGA champ. “But he thought that everybody else got all the breaks and he ever got any. He was the most pessimistic, negative thinker I’ve ever known.”

Cooper helped cure Ben Hogan of an ugly hook and worked as a club pro in New York until 93, three years before his death in 2000.

His final take on golf was true to his nature.

“First you’ve got to be good,” he once said, “but then you’ve got to be lucky.”

Follow Kevin Sherrington on Twitter at @KSherringtonDMN.

A LA CARTE

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About Kevin Sherrington

Kevin Sherrington, a general sports columnist, was born in Dallas and grew up in Houston. He has worked at five newspapers in Texas. He has worked at The Dallas Morning News since 1985. He had no idea his career would come to blogging.